sasha2lady

The DON, administrator, social worker, ADON, unit manager and charge nurse are all aware of whats going on. One of the other nurses did ask her if anything was wrong and the only thing she said was that she was fine. Ive observed her on several occasions and each time its been worse. Especially with the shaking hands and cognition. Shes tried counting narcotics with oncoming nurses using the wrong papers, and when that gets pointed out to her she will call off random numbers so its basically like you are counting narcotics alone. I showed the unit manager the meds I had found in a room that were left and incorrect and took her to the room where the one of the IV's had been unhooked from the patient. All she did was shake her head and say "well you know how she is"....and my reply back was yes...i do and I refuse to be blamed for the outcome of her inability to work properly and be blamed for leaving meds out in the open like that. Several other nurses have pointed out the exact same things to the DON and ADON with no success either. Ive jotted down each time Ive told managers how uncomfortable it makes me to follow this nurse and every time I get nothing in return. The ADON in fact said to me that she didnt see what I was talking about and that she seemed fine to her. I have also informed them that when something dire happens its on their hands for continuing to put the pts at risk and when there is an investigation over a huge disaster that I will not cover up for anyone nor will I lie about anything for them becaues they have all been made aware of the huge risk at hand. I am seriously thinking she is in early stages of dementia or parkinson's. She was always slow but never confused like this. She even got lost on the way to the time clock one time and when she got there I had to show her how to clock out because she couldn't remember how to do it...even though she had clocked in earlier. I think alot of her and I hate seeing whatever this is happen to her. I questioned her once about her surgery and she couldnt even remember how long it had been since it was done nor could she remember her next appointment. Shes even came in to work on the wrong days and got argumentative with other nurses about it when they told her what day she was actually supposed to be there. Its totally not like her normal self at all.

Ok,long story short we have a much older nurse at work who recently returned after a surgery. She has always been slow and unable to stand on her own...but now something is different. I along with 5 other nurses on various shifts have noticed how this nurse's mind is not right. She has been really confused, doesnt seem to know where she is or what to do. She didnt know how to do a tb test, an IM injection, she left meds laying in several rooms (we are not allowed to do that) and the meds that I found were incorrect..luckily the pt had not taken them. Ive followed behind her and found that people with IV's had been unhooked from the IVF's they were in dire need of (one had a BUN of 88)...when I asked her about the IV's she had no idea what I was talking about. She gives report to the oncoming shift using the old reports she finds...whether it be from the night before, the day before or the week prior. She doesn't know what meds are....she thought fosamax was for anxiety. The list goes on. The supervisors all are aware of this. I feel so uncomfortable following her. I feel in my gut she is going to seriously hurt or even kill a pt on accident because she can't do this job anymore. Instead of dealing with this....the supervisors have given her extra shifts to work. I feel physically sick about it. The last thing I want is to end up in a lawsuit or something or go in behind her and find a pt dead because she gave or didnt give them what they were due. My stomach burns like fire and churns when I have to go in to work knowing what I might walk into. Its already a mess to the n'th degree every other time I work and this makes it worse. I dont know what to do. The supervisors and administration have not listened to any of the nurses who have brought this to their attention so what is to be done now? This nurse will soon be 80 years old by the way. I dont know if the signs Im seeing are early dementia or parkinsons or if its medication related for her. I also noticed her hands shake really bad and uncontrollably. When I say shake....I dont mean like a little tremor...I mean a shaking like when you are shaking a bag of flour or something. HElp!

I wouldn't read too much into it really. Do your thing on your off work time. Seems like its a little bit purposeful...as if they are maybe trying to get you to come forward and say hey....I wanna do that too whats up?..... There are cliques everywhere. Where I work day shift is particularly known for it. And they are thick as thieves. I have one nurse that I am really good friends with and one cna that I'm close to out of about 100+ total employees. The rest I don't associate with except in passing as I go in to work or leave.

I've noticed that this whole area has alot of focus on coworker bullying type issues. So, to lighten the mood a little, what has a coworker done thats been nice towards you? What about the meanest thing that someone's done to you at work? My story: I was asked by a coworker to make out a list for her hall of all the years upcoming TB test due dates for her patients. I had made one for the hall I work and she liked it. So, one night I got to work her hall (she works days) and I went thru every single chart and made a TB list. I put it in a private place at the desk visible only to the nurse who would be sitting at that spot (like mine) so that when changeovers came all anybody had to do was glance at that list to see who was due that month for a test. 2 nurses that I don't mesh well with ripped the paper down, ripped it to shreds, balled up what was left and stuck it in my box at the desk. They put it where I'd find it like that. I was FURIOUS!!!! They bragged to other staff about it like they'd just accomplished something epic. I showed no emotion about it, nor did I say anything bad because that's what they wanted me to do. That was very hard for me to do because I wanted to give those 2 a verbal thrashing they'd not soon forget & call them out on every single thing wrong they'd done......but I didn't. I just documented the incident. On the other hand, my favorite coworker is a good friend of mine who thinks alot like me. One time when I was coming down with what I thought was a cold or sinuses, she came to work with a homemade basket with some cold meds and noodle soup and a coke (my fave drink). She even put a box of kleenex in it. I thought that was so nice. And believe me I really needed all of it or else I don't know how I wouldve ever made it through that night. My head was about to explode from being so stuffy.

You did your part. Now, the one you reported to is on her own. I have the same problem at work with 3 different nurses. nurse A-always late, walks away from me during report, puts on makeup, eats brkfst, starts conversations or goes off with the cna's while I try to tell her about the pts---then she goes and "tattles" to the DON or whoever in mgmt she has her nose stuck in for that day that she didn't get report...didnt get this or that in report..and my reply to that is SHUT UP, STAY PUT, ASK ?'S AND FREAKIN LISTEN Nurse B-similar to nurse A, A&B are best buds, always late, listens to report better but gives a whacked out report that usually indicates that 99% of the pts are in some weird condition-usually not even true b/c she doesn't know them that well-is sloppy to come in behind Nurse C- (Ugh)-comes in with a chip on her shoulder every time she works, is a know it all, everybody but her and her 2 bff's are stupid and she makes it known to everybody around-very negative, never smiles, unfriendly, slams things around, undoes everything on the med cart after I clean it and refill everything, her face is always blood red (cuz she's ****** off 24/7), she rolls her eyes, tries to get argumentative when you tell her things she doesn't 'agree" with cuz she's a God apparently. These are the kinds of people I HATE working with, near, before and after.

I dont think I'd want to work the same shift with her for sure! I work with a few sort of like her, but not to the degree that she is. We have a really old nurse who's always had others to basically do her work for her....so she's clueless and gives you report from several days ago if the report sheets are left where she can see them. Some others I work with are just plain mean. When I say mean....they are mean in and outside of work. Hateful, spiteful, obnoxious, and do a seriously sloppy job. yet......because they can pass boards......here they are....out and about all over the place working taking care of sick folks. I keep telling myself....."these idiots will get the same care they give in their careers. Hopefully worse.".....and I truly hope they get back what they give others.

I feel ya! There are 2 nurses I HATE coming in behind because its ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS a mess. Half the time they are MIA on smoke breaks and that puts me half an hr behind...mind you I have double the load than they do. They give awful reports-probably because they don't work their full shift so I end up hearing all the wrong information which takes me forever to figure out & I do that as I go. they are slobs....and whats so bad is that these 2 come in and try to look like supermodels on a daily basis....yet they let trash over run in the floor for ME to pick up..nothing is stocked...bad report....narc counts are always wrong with these 2....holes everywhere and they NEVER document on anything. Its like this all the time. So, the little bit of info I do get told in report is never written down in any charts....imagine this mess? Plus....they mark and hide meds. Trifling. What I do is I make my own notes and I keep my own records of these things. That way if it ever comes up later I have facts and documentation to refer back to. Sad to have to do that but....people are crazy. And none of our mgmt will do anything about this....because these 2 nurses have a nose thats brown as brown can be if ya follow me.

While the bullying may seem less on the nurse A because they are focusing on you, DON'T let this continue or you're working days will become miserable. Bullying is so common now. I've dealt with it to an extent myself by one particular nurse coworker (who is now being promoted to a mgmt job so.....since she hates me who knows how long my job will be around) who has challenged almost every decision or action I've made about our residents. She has tried to argue with me and belittle me in front of other staff, she's ripped down information I've put out for the MD to see and said in front of me and others (" this is S***! He don't need to know this!") one time it was when I was requesting an xray to appease a family member....turned out I WAS RIGHT-pt had a fx that we didn't know about...and the MD didn't evaluate anything for days because she threw my information away. Me and this beast have went head to head several times in the past but she is a miserable person. It physically makes my head and stomach hurt to this day to even speak to this nurse. She is so sour and hateful to all of us except for 3 other nurses who she is very cliquish with. Just don't let yourself get all caught up in that scene or be the victim.

This is a cool topic and right up my alley:) Where I work we, the night shift, tend to call ourselves night owls and we call the day shift daywalkers or....of course....like someone said earlier...."female dogs"...ya know....the B word...aka....the "B****" shift ( cuz they all think they are Gods & know everything)....where I work.

Last week I discovered that a spouse of one of my patients has a tape recorder in the room & has been recording staff when they come in the room. The spouse also writes down every single thing we do in the room & has been very accusatory, forgetful, argumentative & agitated towards staff. 3 nurses have seen her with the recorder and the other nurses heard themselves on it when the spouse hit the play button by mistake. I spoke to a supervisor about this and found out that management is well aware of it yet has done nothing about it. I think its illegal to record us without our knowledge or permission. If this spouse were to take this to court for whatever insane reason, it wouldnt stand most likely. I don't understand the reasoning behind it because there has been nothing to my knowledge to warrant this. The spouse stays 24/7 & is extremely suspicious of everything we do & has made countless complaints & accused staff of not checking on the patient, even though this spouse has assisted with care many many times & watches us like a hawk to the point that its more of a burden than a help. Also, after talking to the supervisor it was brought to my attention that the spouse has also smacked the patient several times demanding that they get up and walk, talk and eat etc...the patient is the victim of a massive devastating stroke that has taken most of their abilities away from them, making it impossible to return to what was a normal lifestyle 3 months ago. They have done nothing about this alleged smacking either except threaten the family with a call to DSS. I thought that if they knew of "abuse" it was to be reported immediately to a higher power...even it was just suspected abuse. This spouse has done this in front of 3 different staff members according to the supervisor. My question is this, is it legal for this spouse to be recording us? When I go in the room I don't ever go alone...none of us do. I document every single time I go in and what I've done etc. I just don't appreciate being recorded with no good reason and without my permission. Should management not have stepped in and did something about this privacy violation to its staff? Are nurses (and c.n.a's) not supposed to have some type of privacy protection in their place of employment? Please note, all the spouses accusations and complaints prior have been unfounded according to the supervisor I spoke with.

If you ever yo work in ltc you will look back on this and be so grateful, trust me. Guess how much orientation néw nurses get where I work? At most 2 days!! The last one got only a day and was thrown to the dogs , she quit shortly after. This goes for new grad lpns RNA ltns whoever they hire where I'm at. My boss thinks you should get all you need to know on day one. At my pt job I got 3 wks and I took every bit of it. They even gave me a night of training on a shift I'd never worked before because I asked for it . I didn't want to go blind on an odd shift. I was so appreciative of it and wish all places would do new hires like that

I was a new nurse and 3 mos pregnant when I had my 1st family member run in. B beds dtt in law had messed with A bed and was in a fit of rage saying that my cnas had ignored A beds alarm. She got in my face literally, we were touching noses & she was trying to get at my cna til I stepped in front of her and told the cna to leave. She ranted on and she grabbed my name badge which was on a necklace type thing and broke it from my neck. That was IT! I told her she had 2 seconds to back up away from me and that me or my cnas weren't gonna listen to her degrade us and that she was only there for B bed and was never to touch any other resident. She said she was going to report me to the don and administrator so I offered to get them on the phone myself. By the time I got the phone and took to her , numbers in hand she was gone. She never did report me and I filled out a grievance on her. I personally informed my superiors of what happened and told them I'd never allow somebody to get in my face like that. I found out later that this tyrant is a hOSPICE nurse! That was 5 yrs ago and to this day I haven't had a problem out of her since. Sugar wouldn't melt in her mouth when she's talked to me. If shed have done that to me in any other setting I probably wouldve hit her. She's crazy as a bed bug. I guess she finally got the right one when she got me because shed done this type thing to several other nurses and made them cry. Not me. My hormones took over and it was over. She really hated it when I told her she needed to mind her business and not touch others. Plus I found out her rant was all a lie! Every accusation she made was false. Guess that's why I didn't get reported. I was surprised my superiors even backed me, it sure wouldn't happen now since those are gone.

I reposted my question when I thought I'd lost it originally. Sorry bout that. And as for the holes on mars, I was always taught if u don't chart it u didn't do it so if u don't sign for a med you didn't give it. Thus, there should be documentation somewhere explaining why you didn't give it . In one month I counted 51 holes just on half on one unit. There were many more but I got tired of counting them and stopped at 51. I also find where tb tests are not done or read And 2nd steps are missing. That record is kept in each chart. I find expired meds and insulins alot too so I reorder them and dispose of the old per policy. I've also seen a restorative cna chart that she ambulated xyz patient and didn't do it which is where mds makes alot of money . I reported it but I don't know what came of it..probably nothing. When we are low on med A the facility targets medicaids and restorative to make up some of the difference. The mds nurse goes by what they have documented to code the mds. I'd love to be a surveyor. I hate being questioned or followed but I think being on the other end would be interesting

Hmm I have 36 patients on my shift. I used to have 40 but I complained til I got 4 taken off my load. I have a heavy hs pass and I usually have at least 16 charts to chart on. I do skin audits and txs too plus chart checks. When I worked on 8 hr shifts I used to go in get report and count then I'd put all my charts in order where I sit so that I wouldn't forget one. I'd not notes and times on sticky notes and flag my mars with them so I'd remember that I had to go back to that person. I would try to do all my charts within a certain time so I could get that outta the way . It really helped me. Having all my supplies was a help too . It's time consuming to go back and forth for stuff you should already have on hand. Speed will come later. Accuracy is more important. As for the nebs, when you have 30 pts and 5 get nebs all due at the same time it's not feasible to stay with each one for 15 mins . I stay closeby during mine and then go back because in 15 mins I can get severL other things done. Of course it's different if the pt has sob etc and I need to hover a lil bit. This is what school doesn't prepare nurses for. You'll get your own style that works for you and your pts. As for cnas mine know what I expect for the most part.some are better than others but I'm the only night nurse who doesn't have a problem getting my vitals BM list etc . If I have to ask twice I start getting I'll and they hate that. I've seen improvement in that area..

I think you should continue to ignore her. If you were more established at this place a confrontation may be suitable only if necessary. She may be testing the waters with you but maintain only as much contact as absolutely necessary with her. Where I work there is one nurse who thinks she is a god sent picture of perfection who puts the rest of us down and tries to bully others. 2 others are just sloppy careless and think they know much more than what they do and another one is hateful rude spiteful and obnoxious to everybody she meets. Luckily they work different shifts than me but I always dread seeing them come in or following behind them. I just try to stay away from them .